Psalm 72:10

Psalm 72:10

A King in Israel

Scholars have attempted, for centuries, to nail down the exact location of Tarshish. Some have this city as far away as Spain, others believe it was an island, still others place it in N Africa! The name crops up around 25 times in the Old Testament so I think we can assume that it did exist – contrary to some opinions. Solomon had fleets of ships scouring the world of that time for precious metals and jewels and Tarshish appears to be important as a seaport. 

Sheba could have been part of southwest Arabia. It was a port that profited from transporting luxury goods from north Africa to Lebanon using caravan routes through the desert. A famous Queen visited Solomon from this part of the world. (1 Kings 10.) 

Seba is thought to be associated with modern Sudan although, again, opinions differ for it is also aligned with Cush and could have been part of western Persia, today’s Iran. 

The Psalm proves that places and their importance change over the centuries, what does not change is the centrality of Israel in history, and that trading, and politics, have long been centred around this land. As we have seen, our Messiah will reign from Zion and once again the wealthy states of the world will pay tribute to a King in Israel. Keep your eyes focussed on this land for there is much still to be revealed as we await our coming King. 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Psalm 4:1 Smear campaigns

Psalm 4:1    Smear campaigns   The background to this Psalm is so familiar; David is being slandered and maligned by his detractors.  It seems that some calamity has befallen the nation and the king is getting the blame! Lies are being told, a smear campaign has begun, and the reputation of the Sovereign is under threat.  As usual, if something goes wrong, culpability is laid at the feet of the one in charge.  David, quite rightly, turns to the Lord his God and prays for relief and for mercy. The Satan is a master of such campaigns and his emissaries gleefully turn on Christians in leadership positions although the whispering campaign can affect all of us. The whispering starts in our own heads, but it can also come from the lips of our detractors. It goes something like this: - You’re the reason it went wrong You messed up again You should have seen it coming Surely you know better You are not worthy You don’t know what you’re doing Someone else ought to be in c
Read more
Psalm4:8        I will lie down and sleep                Th ere are times, in the life of all believers, when we no longer have control of situations. We can do nothing more. We have given our all, we have tried every possible solution and now it is out of our hands. As someone has wisely said, “It is time to let go and let God.” If we truly trust Him, if our faith will allow us, we can turn our backs on our enemies. We can block our ears to the threats. We can ignore the lies and the deceit and say,  “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone Lord, make me dwell in safety.” I should imagine that the devil, having sent a hurricane our way is not amused, when we settle in our beds in the midst of it all and drift off into a peaceful sleep! But that is our right and privilege once we let the Lord God Almighty take control. These spiritual attacks are like whirlwinds, they blow with terrifying intensity and threaten to turn us upside down; the disciples witnessed one of thes
Read more

Psalm 74:16

Psalm 74:16 God established the sun and the moon “ In  the beginning   God created   the heavens   and the earth.   2  Now the earth was formless   and empty,   darkness was over the surface of the deep,   and the Spirit of God   was hovering over the waters. 3  And God said,   “Let there be light,” and there was light.   4  God saw that the light was good,   and he separated the light from the darkness.   5  God called   the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.”   And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.” These, so familiar, words from Genesis 1 remind us of who is in charge! There would be no light without God. There would be no day or night without God. There would be no earth without God. And there would have been no living things unless God had created order out of chaos. The sun, moon and stars would not be fixed in their orbits without God and you and I would not exist unless He ordered our conception. It is because we see God as glorious, righteous
Read more